The Day Nina Simone Stopped Singing by Darina Al-Joundi

Isabelle Soing Read more in our Bedside table series:

The objects gathered by Virginie play the same role. They create a story, as in children’s books. These objects are symbols of protection and could be a way to end the mourning of her mother. This small space enables her to pause for a moment and recharge her batteries, like the small altars in Buddhist houses. The title of the book she quotes makes a symbolic link between the death of her mother and her husband’s origins. Virginie expresses how much her bedside table and the contents ‘fix’ the lack of intimacy of her previous place and of the pains of her life. I also store my accessory prototypes and vintage jewels inherited from my mother, or brought back from my travels.” Psychotherapist’s opinion: I like having memories close to me, recalling my close relationships: drawings and photos of my daughters, comforting words, the Missal of my mother when she was a child, a Kitsch Virgin of Lourdes, a lead miniature depicting a married couple gifted by my mother before my wedding. The book is about Lebanon a country that has a particular link with me, as my husband has Lebanese origins. It also houses my favourite books that I introduced to a neighbourhood readers’ club such as, The Day Nina Simone Stopped Singing by Darina Al Joundi. I keep a candle, and my address book so I can send emails from bed.

This is the space in which I can release tension. On it, I have the DVD that I tend to watch alone in the evening. During a difficult time, marked by the death of my mother and the lengthy hospitalisation of one of my daughters, this bedside was my ‘companion’.

My bedside is not very beautiful (the one of my dreams would be sculpted from a tree from my parents’ garden), but it is precious to me. I protect him from early morning bells and from assaults by the children! I do! Thus, the alarm clock is on my side. In our current bedroom, my husband, who sleeps next to the wall, and works staggered hours, has no bedside table. For me, this meant a lack of intimacy and space. “In our previous apartment – a loft – our bed was in the living room I had no bedside table.

The Day Nina Simone Stopped Singing by Darina Al-Joundi